Skip to main content

Depositional record of historic lahars in the upper Whangaehu Valley, Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand: implications for trigger mechanisms, flow dynamics and lahar hazards

Bulletin of Volcanology volume 72, pages 279–296 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Mt. Ruapehu, in the central North Island of New Zealand, is one of the most lahar-prone volcanoes in the world. Since historic observations began in 1861 AD, more than 50 individual lahars have been recorded in the Whangaehu valley alone, the natural outlet to the summit Crater Lake. These lahars have been triggered by a variety of mechanisms, including explosive eruptions that displaced Crater Lake water over the outlet or ejected it onto the snow-clad summit area of the volcano; rain-remobilisation of tephra deposits on steep slopes; displacement over the outlet as a result of syn-eruptive changes in lake bathymetry; and lake break-outs from Crater Lake following impoundment of excess water behind temporary barriers of tephra and/or ice emplaced over the outlet. However, only 9 lahar deposits can be distinguished in the upper Whangaehu valley on sedimentological, stratigraphic, geomorphic and petrological grounds, and these are skewed towards either the largest or the most recent flows. In some cases magnitude can be reconstructed from deposit geometry, with the largest lahars producing the highest level terraces, the coarsest deposits, and crossing drainage divides into normally inactive channels. This under-representation of historic events reflects the low preservation potential of unconsolidated deposits in a steep alpine environment, and the overprinting and recycling effect of large magnitude lahars that rework material down to bedrock and effectively reset the stratigraphic record. Development of magnitude-frequency relationships for Ruapehu lahars therefore requires the identification of lahar deposits in proximal, medial and distal settings in order to ensure that the full range of events is represented.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

References

  • Baker VR, Costa JE (1987) Flood power. In: Mayer L, Nash D (eds) Catastrophic flooding. Allen & Unwin, Boston, pp 1–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck AC (1950) Volcanic activity at Mt. Ruapehu from August to December, 1945. NZ J Sci Tech B31:1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Brayshaw AC (1984) Characteristics and origin of cluster bedforms in coarse-grained alluvial channels. In: Koster EH, Steel RJ (eds) Sedimentology of gravels and conglomerates. Can Soc Petrol Geol Memoir 10:75–85

  • Bryan C, Christenson BW, Hodgson KA, Houghton BF, Johnston DM, Jurado-Chichay Z, Lindsay J, Manville V, Nakagawa M, Nairn IA, Otway PM, Sherburn S, Scott BJ, Thordarson T, Wood CP, Wilson CJN (1996) Volcanic eruption at a New Zealand ski resort prompts re-evaluation of hazards. EOS, Trans AGU 77:189–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Caine N (1980) The rainfall intensity—duration control of shallow landslides and debris flows. Geograf Annal 62A:23–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell IB (1973) Recent aggradation in Whangaehu valley, central North Island, New Zealand. NZ J Geol Geophys 16:643–649

    Google Scholar 

  • Carling PA (1989) Hydrodynamic models of boulder berm deposits. Geomorph 2:319–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carrivick JL, Manville V, Cronin SJ (2008) A fluid dynamics approach to modelling the 18th March 2007 lahar at Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 71:153–169. doi:10.1007/s00445-008-0213-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chow VT (1959) Open channel hydraulics. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Christenson BW, Wood CP (1993) Evolution of a vent-hosted hydrothermal system beneath Ruapehu Crater Lake, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 55:547–565

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa JE (1988) Rheologic, geomorphic, and sedimentologic differentiation of water floods, hyperconcentrated flows and debris flows. In: Baker VR, Kochel RC, Patton PC (eds) Flood geomorphology. Wiley, New York, pp 113–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronin SJ, Neall VE, Lecointre JA, Palmer AS (1996) Unusual “snow slurry” lahars from Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand, September 1995. Geology 24:1107–1110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin SJ, Hodgson KA, Neall VE, Palmer AS, Lecointre JA (1997a) 1995 Ruapehu lahars in relation to the late Holocene lahars of Whangaehu River, New Zealand. NZ J Geol Geophys 40:507–520

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronin SJ, Neall VE, Lecointre JA, Palmer AS (1997b) Changes in Whangaehu River lahar characteristics during the 1995 eruption sequence, Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 76:47–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin SJ, Neall VE, Palmer AS (1997c) Lahar history and hazard of the Tongariro River, Northeastern Tongariro Volcanic Centre, New Zealand. NZ J Geol Geophys 40:383–394

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronin SJ, Neall VE, Lecointre JA, Palmer AS (1999) Dynamic interactions between lahars and stream flow: a case study from Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Geol Soc Am Bull 111:28–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin SJ, Lecointre JA, Palmer AS, Neall VE (2000) Transformation, internal stratification, and depositional processes within a channelised, multi-peaked lahar flow. NZ J Geol Geophys 43:117–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Donoghue SL, Neall VE (2001) Late Quaternary constructional history of the southeastern Ruapehu ring plain, New Zealand. NZ J Geol Geophys 44:439–466

    Google Scholar 

  • Donoghue SL, Neall VE, Palmer AS (1988) Holocene geology of the upper Whangaehu River, Mt. Ruapehu. NZ Geol Soc Misc Publ 41A:61

    Google Scholar 

  • Donoghue SL, Neall VE, Palmer AS, Stewart RB (1997) The volcanic history of Ruapehu during the past 2 millenia based on the record of Tufa Trig tephra. Bull Volcanol 59:136–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • French JR (2003) Airborne LiDAR in support of geomorphological and hydraulic modelling. Earth Surf Proc Landf 28:321–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallino GL, Pierson TC (1985) The 1980 Polallie Creek debris flow and subsequent dam-break flood, East Fork Hood River basin, Oregon. US Geol Surv Water-Supply Pap 2273:21–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Gauer P, Issler D (2004) Possible erosion mechanisms in snow avalanches. Ann Glaciol 38:384–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graettinger AH (2008) Depositional record of historic lahars in the Whangaehu Gorge, Mt. Ruapehu. MSc thesis. Waikato University, Hamilton

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregg DR (1960) The geology of Tongariro subdivision. NZ Geol Surv Bull 40:1–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Hackett WR, Houghton BF (1989) A facies model for a Quaternary andesitic composite volcano: Ruapehu, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 51:51–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Healy J, Lloyd EF, Rushworth DEH, Wood CP, Glover RB, Dibble RR (1978) The eruption of Ruapehu, New Zealand on 22 June 1969. NZ Dep Sci Ind Res Bull 224:1–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiscott RN (1994) Loss of capacity, not competence, as the fundamental process governing deposition from turbidity currents. J Sed Res A64:209–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodgson KA (1993) Late Quaternary lahars from Mount Ruapehu in the Whangaehu River valley, North Island, New Zealand. PhD thesis, Massey University, Palmerston North

  • Hodgson KA, Manville V (1999) Sedimentology and flow behaviour of a rain-triggered lahar, Mangatoetoenui Stream, Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Geol Soc Am Bull 111:743–754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodgson KA, Lecointre J, Neall VE (2007) Onetapu Formation: the last 2000 yr of laharic activity at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. NZ J Geol Geophys 50:81–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Houghton BF, Latter JH, Hacket WR (1987) Volcanic hazard assessment for Ruapehu composite volcano, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 49:737–751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson RM (1997) The physics of debris flows. Rev Geophys 35:245–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson RM (2003) The debris-flow rheology myth. In: Rickenmann D, Chen C-L (eds) Debris-flow hazards mitigation: mechanics, prediction, and assessment. Millpress, Rotterdam, Davos, Switzerland, pp 303–314

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakob M, Bovis M, Oden M (2005) The significance of channel recharge rates for estimating debris-flow magnitude and frequency. Earth Surf Proc Landf 30:755–766

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson AM, Rodine JR (1984) Debris flow. In: Brunsden D, Prior DB (eds) Slope instability. Wiley, New York, pp 257–361

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston DM, Houghton BF, Neall VE, Ronan KR, Paton D (2000) Impacts of the 1945 and 1995–1996 Ruapehu eruptions, New Zealand: an example of increasing societal vulnerability. Geol Soc Am Bull 112:720–726

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keys H (1988) Survey of the glaciers on Mt. Ruapehu, Tongariro National Park - a baseline for detecting effects of climate change. Dept of Conservation, Wellington. Sci Res Int Rep 24:1–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Koyaguchi T, Woods AW (1996) On the formation of eruption columns following explosive mixing of magma and surface water. J Geophy Res 101:5561–5574

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krenek LO (1959) Changes in the glaciers of Mt Ruapehu in 1955. NZ J Geol Geophys 2:643–653

    Google Scholar 

  • Lecointre J, Hodgson KA, Neall VE, Cronin SJ (2004) Lahar-triggering mechanisms and hazard at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Nat Haz 31:85–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lube G, Cronin SJ, Procter JN (2009) Explaining the extreme mobility of volcanic ice-slurry flows, Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Geology 37:15–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Major JJ, Newhall CG (1989) Snow and ice perturbation during historical volcanic eruptions and the formation of lahars and floods. Bull Volcanol 52:1–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manville V (2004) Palaeohydraulic analysis of the 1953 Tangiwai lahar: New Zealand’s worst volcanic disaster. Acta Vulcanol 16(1/2):137–152. doi:10.1400/19101

    Google Scholar 

  • Manville V, White JDL (2003) Incipient granular mass flows at the base of sediment-laden floods, and the roles of flow competence and flow capacity in the deposition of stratified bouldery sands. Sed Geol 155:157–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manville V, Cronin SJ (2007) Break-out lahar from New Zealand’s Crater Lake. EOS Trans AGU 88:441–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manville V, Hodgson KA, White JDL (1998) Rheological properties of a remobilised-tephra lahar associated with the 1995 eruption of Ruapehu Volcano, New Zealand. NZ J Geol Geophys 41:157–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Manville V, Hodgson KA, Houghton BF, Keys JRH, White JDL (2000) Tephra, snow and water: complex sedimentary responses at an active, snow-capped stratovolcano, Ruapehu, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 62:278–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manville V, Hodgson KA, Nairn IA (2007) A review of break-out floods from volcanogenic lakes in New Zealand. NZ J Geol Geophys 52:131–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Marutani T, Yamada T, Kimura M, Maita H, Manville V, Leonard G, Trustrum N (2007) Ruapehu Crater Lake break-out lahar: North Island, New Zealand. Shin-Sabo 60:59–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Mastin LG, Witter JB (2000) The hazards of eruptions through lakes and seawater. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 97:195–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McArthur JL, Shepherd MJ (1990) Late Quaternary glaciation of Mt Ruapehu, North Island, New Zealand. J Roy Soc NZ 20:287–296

    Google Scholar 

  • McDougall S, Hungr O (2004) Dynamic modelling of entrainment in rapid landslides. Can Geotech J 41:1437–1448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore JG (1967) Base surge in recent volcanic eruptions. Bull Volcanol 30:337–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nairn IA, Wood CP, Hewson CAY (1979) Phreatic eruptions of Ruapehu: April 1975. NZ J Geol Geophys 22:155–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakagawa M, Wada K, Thordarson T, Wood CP, Gamble JA (1999) Petrological investigations of the 1995 and 1996 eruptions of Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand: formation of discrete and small magma pockets and their intermittent discharge. Bull Volcanol 61:15–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Shea BE (1954) Ruapehu and the Tangiwai disaster. NZ J Sci Tech B36:174–189

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliver RL (1945) Further activity of Mount Ruapehu, May–July, 1945. NZ J Sci Tech B26:24–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Otway PM, Hodgson KA, Nairn IA (1995) Whakapapa skifields lahar study. Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences. Sci Rep 95(39):1–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer BA (1991) Holocene lahar deposits in the Whakapapa catchment, northwestern ring plain, Ruapehu volcano (North Island, New Zealand). NZ J Geol Geophys 34:177–190

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer BA, Purves AM, Donoghue SL (1993) Controls on accumulation of a volcaniclastic fan, Ruapehu composite volcano, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 55:176–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paterson BR (1980) The hazard of lahars to the Tongariro Power Development, New Zealand. Proceedings, Third Australian-NZ Geomech Conf, NZ Inst Eng, 6(1)/G:2.7–2.14

  • Pierson TC (1998) An empirical method for estimating travel times for wet volcanic mass flows. Bull Volcanol 60:98–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pierson TC, Scott KM (1985) Downstream dilution of a lahar: transition from debris to hyperconcentrated streamflow. Water Res Res 21:1511–1524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pierson TC, Costa JE (1987) A rheologic classification of subaerial sediment-water flows. In: Costa JE, Wieczorek GF (eds) Debris flows/avalanches: process, recognition, and mitigation. Geol Soc Am Rev Eng Geol 7:1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierson TC, Janda RJ (1994) Volcanic mixed avalanches: a distinct eruption triggered mass-flow process at snow-clad volcanoes. Geol Soc Am Bull 106:1351–1358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed JJ (1945) Activity at Ruapehu, March–April, 1945. NZ J Sci Tech B26:17–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Rushmer EL (2007) Physical-scale modelling of jökulhlaups (glacial outburst floods) with contrasting hydrograph shapes. Earth Surf Proc Landf 32:954–963

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott KM (1988) Origins, behavior, and sedimentology of lahars and lahar-runout flows in the Toutle-Cowlitz River system. US Geol Surv Prof Paper 1447-A:1–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Scrivenor JB (1929) The mudstreams (lahars) of Gunong Kelot in Java. Geol Mag 66:433–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skey W (1869) On the water from the Whangaehu River, Onetapu, Auckland. Trans NZ Inst 1:28

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanguy J-C, Ribière C, Scarth A, Tjetjep WS (1998) Victims from volcanic eruptions: a revised database. Bull Volcanol 60:137–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor R (1861) Journal of Rev. Richard Taylor 1833–1873. Typescript in Alexander-Turnbull Library, Wellington

  • Vallance JW, Scott KM (1997) The Osceola Mudflow from Mount Rainier: sedimentology and hazard implications of a huge clay-rich debris flow. Geol Soc Am Bull 109:143–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vignaux M, Weir GJ (1990) A general model for Mt. Ruapehu lahars. Bull Volcanol 52:381–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villamor P, Van Dissen R, Alloway BV, Palmer AS, Litchfield N (2007) The Rangipo fault, Taupo rift, New Zealand: An example of temporal slip-rate and single-event displacement variability in a volcanic environment. Geol Soc Am Bull 119:529–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waitt RB, Gardner CA, Pierson TC, Major JJ, Neal CA (1994) Unusual ice diamicts emplaced during the December 15, 1989 eruption at Redoubt Volcano, Alaska. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 62:409–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wieczorek GF (1987) Effect of rainfall intensity and duration on debris flows in central Santa Cruz Mountains, California. In: Costa JE, Wieczorek GF (eds) Debris flows/avalanches: process, recognition, and mitigation. Geol Soc Am Rev Eng Geol 7:93–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Witham CS (2005) Volcanic disasters and incidents: a new database. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 148:191–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wohletz KH (1986) Explosive magma-water interactions: thermodynamics, explosion mechanisms, and field studies. Bull Volcanol 48:245–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This paper is the result of MSc research conducted by A. Graettinger at the University of Waikato. S. Cooke, K. Hodgson, K. Jackson, K. Kataoka, J. Krippner, R. Pickett and M. Taylor provided assistance with fieldwork. B. Houghton and S. Fagents (University of Hawai’i) provided field-sieve data. LiDAR data was used with the permission of GNS Science and Massey University. Manville acknowledges funding from the New Zealand Foundation for Research Science and Technology (CO5X0006). T.C. Pierson and J.D.L. White are thanked for their constructive reviews that improved the quality of this manuscript.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Alison H. Graettinger

    Present address: Department of Geology and Planetary Science, The University of Pittsburgh, SRCC, Room 200, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260-3332, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, The University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Alison H. Graettinger & Roger M. Briggs

  2. GNS Science, Wairakei Research Centre, Private Bag 2000, Taupo, New Zealand

    Vern Manville

Authors
  1. Alison H. Graettinger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vern Manville
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Roger M. Briggs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alison H. Graettinger.

Additional information

Editorial responsibility: J. White

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Graettinger, A.H., Manville, V. & Briggs, R.M. Depositional record of historic lahars in the upper Whangaehu Valley, Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand: implications for trigger mechanisms, flow dynamics and lahar hazards. Bull Volcanol 72, 279–296 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-009-0318-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-009-0318-2

Keywords

  • Lahars
  • Ruapehu
  • Crater lake
  • Debris flows
  • Volcanic hazards
  • Trigger mechanism